Fans of JRR Tolkien are familiar with “Orcs,” the monstrous humanoid thugs of Sauron and Saruman. And fans of a host of lesser fantasies and role-playing games are familiar with them too, often in rather silly permutations. If you've read “The Hobbit” as well as “Lord of the Rings,” you know that Tolkien's Orcs were originally referred to as goblins. But what is a goblin, exactly?
